‘Cosmopolis’ Teaser: Robert Pattinson Takes a Walk on the Wild Side [Updated]

When he’s not decked out in pale makeup and hair gel to play vampire Edward Cullen in the Twilight movies, Robert Pattinson has generally preferred to work on more “challenging” indie flicks like Little Ashes and Bel Ami. However, the most recent addition to Pattinson’s indie resume is a film that truly deserves to be labeled “edgy” and “risque”: David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis.

An international teaser trailer has been released for Cosmopolis, which sees Cronenberg directing from his own screenplay (based on Don DeLillo’s 2003 novel) and working with a cast headlined by Pattinson, alongside such supporting players as Paul Giamatti, Jay Baruchel, Samantha Morton, Juliette Binoche, Kevin Durand, and Sarah Gadon – all in a story that’s pretty warped, to say the least.

Check out the Cosmopolis international teaser (which is NSFW) followed by an unofficial synopsis:

DeLillo’s novel follows a day in the life of 28-year old billionaire Eric Packer, who travels across Manhattan in order to get a haircut from his preferred barber. Through a series of chance encounters with his wife, strange individuals, and his own costly financial miscalculations, Packer begins to see his world of wealth and privilege in an entirely new and unpleasant light.

There’s a whole lot of surreal and disturbing imagery packed into that thirty seconds of Cosmopolis footage, to say the least. Cronenberg’s latest looks like a sort of darker character study mixed with elements of the “body horror” genre that’s long been his focus as a filmmaker (see: The Fly, Dead Ringers, Crash, etc.). Similarly, there’s a 1980s satirical vibe to the proceedings that recalls his work on Videodrome, while the existential aspects of Eric Packer’s single-day odyssey bear a resemblance to those explored in Cronenberg’s Spider adaptation. Color us intrigued to see how Cronenberg’s latest symphony of madness plays out in full, for those reasons.

UPDATE: Check out the official poster for Cosmopolis:

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Cosmopolis has yet to secure an official U.S. theatrical release date, but that should change in the near future. As always, we will keep you posted.